Singer Frank Ocean cancels Australian shows due to vocal injury

Singer Frank Ocean arrives for the Time 100 gala celebrating the magazine's naming of the 100 most influential people in the world for the past year, in New York, April 23, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - American R&B singer Frank Ocean has called off the remaining dates on his Australian tour because of a tear on one of his vocal cords, the tour’s promoter said on Friday.

Ocean, whose debut album, “Channel Orange,” won a Grammy this year, began having vocal problems during his performance in Melbourne on Thursday, Live Nation Australia & New Zealand said.

“It has subsequently been confirmed that Frank has suffered a small tear to one of his vocal chords and has received medical advice that he must rest his voice,” the promoter said in a post on its Facebook page. “This makes the completion of his remaining Australian dates impossible.”

Ocean, 25, had been scheduled to perform in Melbourne on Friday, followed by shows in Sydney on Monday and Tuesday.

It is not known if Ocean will be able to perform at the Osheaga Festival in Montreal on August 3 or OVO Music Festival in Toronto on August 4, the singer’s publicist said.